The 10 Biggest Limited Box Office Debuts of All Time: How Well Did They Do In The End?

The 10 Biggest Limited Box Office Debuts of All Time: How Well Did They Do In The End?

Aided by strong reviews and even stronger early Oscar buzz for Cate Blanchett’s performance, Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” soared this past weekend, taking in $612,767 from just 6 theaters. Distributor Sony Pictures Classics reported a $102,128 average as a result, which if estimates hold up makes it the sixth best average for a live action film (and the best for both 2013 and Woody Allen). But does that mean that “Jasmine” is already a breakout hit, heading for “Midnight in Paris” numbers north of $50 million? Not necessarily. Here’s a look at the all top 10 opening per-theater-averages for live action films, and how their box office ended up.

How Well Did It Do In The End? Despite a truly insane opening average that remains the highest of all time for a live action film, Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic follow up to “There Will Be Blood” fell pretty hard as it expanded more aggressively than most specialty titles. Going from 5 to 788 screens in its second weekend, its average fell to $5,572 as a result and ended up grossing only $16,377,274 — the lowest total gross of the top 5 films on this list.

How Well Did It Do In The End? Briefly holding this all-time record until the aforementioned “Master” opened a few months later, Wes proved the more lucrative Anderson in the end: “Moonrise” held on exceptionally over the summer, grossing $45,512,466 by season’s end — the director’s best final gross since “The Royal Tenenbaums”

How Well Did It Do In The End? Notably, “Dreamgirls” opened on three screens — Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome, New York’s Zeigfield, and San Francisco’s Metreon — at $25 a pop for reserved seating, themed lobby displays and merchandise booths and a limited edition program. So it had a significant advantage over other films on this list. But its debut remains impressive, as does its $103.3 million final gross — the highest on this list (though notably its $80 million budget is also the highest).

How Well Did It Do In The End? The top dog for this record until Beyonce and company took it away a year later, Ang Lee’s gay romance held on extraordinarily well in its first two months of release, buoyed by Oscar buzz that almost led to the top prize. And even though it lost out in that regard, it took in $83,025,853 by the end of its run, a huge number for an R-rated gay western that cost $14 million to make.

How Well Did It Do In The End? The astounding thing about “Precious” was that it opened in 18 theaters, damn near wide compared to the rest of the films on this list. And it averaged another remarkable $33,762 when it expanded to 174 theaters the next weekend. Its final gross of $47,536,959 is perhaps not in line with the expectations of those two weekends, but it’s still an exceptional number (especially considering its $10 million budget).

How Well Did It Do In The End? If the numbers for “Blue Jasmine” hold up, it will replace “Midnight in Paris” as the sixth best average, but it will be very tough for “Jasmine” to match its final gross. Woody Allen’s first best picture nominated film in over 20 years grossed $56,817,045 in the end, the highest grossing film of Allen’s career and the biggest indie breakout of summer 2011. Like “Jasmine,” it was released by Sony Pictures Classics, who likely would be pleased if “Jasmine” grossed even half of “Midnight” by the end of its run (though clearly they’d be happy with more, too).

How Well Did It Do In The End? Madonna’s musical held the live action record for nearly a decade when it exploded into 2 theaters just after Christmas in 1996. It didn’t quite hold up to its first weekend’s potential, though. The $55 million budgeted film grossed just over $50 million during its run. Comparably, the other big budget studio musical on this list — “Dreamgirls” — grossed twice that. But still, it’s enough not to cry for Madonna and co.

How Well Did It Do In The End? Despite an opening average over $50,000 less than director Paul Thomas Anderson’s other film on this list, “There Will Be Blood” more than doubled “The Master”‘s final gross, taking in $40,222,514 thanks in part to a bunch of major Oscar nominations (and a win for star Daniel Day-Lewis). With a production budget of $25 million, that’s a pretty decent haul.

How Well Did It Do In The End? Terrence Malick’s intensely anticipated 2011 Palme D’Or winner had a huge first weekend, particularly considering it was a largely experimental narrative far removed from what mainstream audiences are used to. Which probably played a role in it eventually becoming the lowest grossing film on this list with a $13,303,319 final gross (less than half its $32 million budget).

How Well Did It Do In The End? Royally. The highest grossing film on this list, Tom Hooper’s best picture winning drama took in $135,453,143 after Oscar season was over, a best ever number for The Weinstein Company (until “Django Unchained” came along, that is).

Just in case you’re curious, the next 10 in order of opening average are “Spring Breakers,” “Lincoln,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Moulin Rouge!,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Black Swan,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Up In The Air,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Fighter.” Only two of which — “Spring Breakers” and “Tinker Tailor” — ended up with grosses under $50 million.

Comments

That math seems off on There Will Be Blood. (I didn't check any others, but that one just leaped out at me.) The opening gross is given as $372,920 on 3 screens (coincidentally, the same opening gross of The Tree of Life) but says its opening average is $95,370. Not quite half of the gross for two screens which should equal $186,480.

other than tree of life and master which were both not loved by audiences… the rest did great… so far the reaction from fans seems to be wildly positive for blue jasmine so odds are it's going to do pretty well based on this list… woody does have a limited reach in the U.S. though so sky is not the limit here